The original Viticulture is a favourite of mine, and possibly one of my favourite worker placement games ever. I've written about it in such a positive light I could be accused of gushing over it. I've managed to play it over multiple player counts and teach it with the confidence so normally after a few rounds my fellow players will grasp the basics to allow them to get their own vineyards producing vintages of body and taste. Even if the game doesn't quite go to plan, I've rarely had someone dismiss the game and refuse to play it again, such is the strength of what is on offer.
Viticulture World comes to the table with promises of a different take based around the same mechanics, with players taking on a series of challenges in the area of the world where the vines grow. Unlike its sibling, World asks for everyone to work together and achieve twenty five victory points each and a certain amount of overall fame and prestige and influence. With the caveat that no one can be left behind. You'll either succeed together or fade into obscurity depending on whether you reach those lofty goals.
Viticulture World is Viticulture except there is a lot of "It's similar but what if we did this instead?". So your workers are now reduced to four but you start with them all and they're restricted to when they can be played. You need to spend time training to allow them to be used in any season. The grandé workers are still able to activate any space regardless of who is there, but they also have a trade function to allow you to share resources between players. The Worker places can be upgraded to give more benefits as the game progress. There's a new event where you draw cards that have effects on that particular round, and depending on what part of the world you play in, offer drastically different ways to play. The game no longer finishes when one player reaches the required victory points. It changes Viticulture from being a gentle stroll in the sun to sudden action and decisions and with that it not only changes the game, but changes who you can realistically play Viticulture World with.
Viticulture World is suddenly very serious and also potentially very frustrating. Where before there was gentle competition, there is now the continual conflict caused by working together on a framework that is designed to be competitive. The entire base DNA of a worker placement game is to deny other people the spaces to allow them to carry out the actions they need to. This core mechanic's existence in the game can sometimes struggle to offer the right balance of help or hinder.
With Viticulture World you end up in this strange situation where everyone wants to help each other but can't really help each other because the very nature of going through the stages to build up you own vineyard is potentially going to effect someone else. Sudden rushes, lack of spaces and limited grandé workers lead to furrowed brows and corking of the worst possible nature.
So at larger player counts and six rounds it has the potential to feel like an exercise in lumbering futility. You'll get to round four, and see that your fellow players are languishing around the eight point mark and there is very little that you can do for them, unless you resort to spending your turns acting as trade merchants which doesn't seem to be the most enjoyable way to spend it.. The grandé trade action is there, but with only two spaces on each action, you'll often need to use those instead just to keep your own production going. There doesn't seem to be enough rounds to fulfil the requirements without charging ahead from the beginning. This is no game with a slow gentle start, you need to come out the trap at top speed if you have any intention of succeeding. It goes against the grain of the original as it demands sharing of information and plans, and with that falls into that same potential quarter backing trap of other high pressure cooperative games.
Other games like Pandemic have a hard shut off point, where you are overwhelmed and fail. Viticulture World has you feeling like you have a bad hangover but still need to go into the office and work surrounded by people.
With Viticulture World you really need to reduce the blocking chances down as much as you can, and that it would work best at two or three, where it becomes easier to share resources, occupy spots and take actions. At this level it throws off more of the doubts of the higher player counts and feels a lot more achievable, more skin of the teeth and less defeating.
Viticulture World is more akin to Pandemic Legacy. With the combination of different challenges offered by the different regions, it's more like a game for people who want the same base mechanics of Viticulture but want to be tested and challenged and offered different ways to play. This is what is on offer from the different winegrowing regions of the world, from Australia to South America, each of the event decks offers a slightly different set up and ways to win the game. Its a game where you sit down with the same two or three people and work your way around the world over a series of six or seven sessions.
Viticulture World is very much the full bodied red wine that you can't thrust a glass of in people's faces and expect them to appreciate it. It is the game you play with sourdough and blue vein cheese. It's very much the next level up from the original. It's also a bit frustrating to see it being mentioned as an expansion, because in truth its actually much more than that. To me, it offers a challenge to those who no longer get Viticulture to the table because they feel they've solved it, or feel it doesn't offer anything new. Viticulture World is likely to invigorate them, give them the pressure they feel they've been missing, and get wine growing back to the table. It offers something more selective and specialised, you could be forgiven in saying its more of an acquired taste for a discerning palette.
Designed by Mihir Shah & Francesco Testini
Art by Andrew Bosley
If you would like to buy a copy of Viticulture World and support us with a kickback, you can go to https://amzn.to/45bd0Jk
This review is based on the retail version of the game provided to us by the designer and publisher. We were not paid monetary compensation for this review. We give a general overview of the gameplay and so not all of the mechanical aspects of the game may be mentioned.
The majority of the games that we are play are going to take a reasonable number of sessions and playthroughs to fully understand every possibility that they offer. We hope this write up gives you an idea of whether or not this game is something that you will consider playing or even add to your collection.
Even if we don't like something, hopefully it helps you to decide if it is something that you should find out more about. We always suggest you check out a gameplay video to give you a better understanding of the game as it is played.
If you would like to support more content on the blog then please consider backing us on Patreon. www.patreon.com/werenotwizards
